The present invention relates to a pop-up mechanism that is well-suitably used as a height-adjusting mechanism of an arm rest, and the like, which is incorporated in an arm rest constructed on a center console box of an automobile or an arm rest furnished in a rear seat. More specifically, it relates to a pop-up mechanism in which an ascending and descending body is attached to be capable of rotation to at least a pair of flip-flop members at front and back provided to be able to rotate on a base body to thereby constitute a link mechanism, and the above flip-flop members are rotated to raise and lower the above ascending and descending body.
From the past, it has been a practice to provide a center console box (a), such as shown in FIG. 13, between the driver and front passenger seats, and the like. Most recently, it has been a practice to use a center console box (a) as an arm rest by providing on the cover (b) of this center console box (a) an ascending and descending body (not illustrated in FIG. 13) that is raised and lowered by a button operation, attaching an arm rest (e) to this ascending and descending body, and raising this arm rest (e) using the above ascending and descending body.
In such a console box operating as an arm rest, as a pop-up mechanism that raises and lowers the above ascending and descending body, there is a mechanism in the past shown in FIGS. 14-16. That is, this pop-up mechanism constitutes a link mechanism with a cover (b) of the console box (a) as a base body, flip-flop or collapsible members (c, d) attached at a specified distance away from each other on that cover (b) so as to be capable of flipping up and down, and ascending and descending body (f) with the arm rest (e) linked on the upper ends of these flip-flop members (c, d) so as to be capable of rotation. Torsion springs (h) are disposed between the above two flip-flop members (c, d) and the base parts (g) of the flip-flop members (c, d) fixed to the cover (b) so as to force both flip-flop members (c,d) in the upright direction. Also, a long plate-shaped lock piece (i) for locking in the folded state with the flip-flop members (c, d) turned down (state in FIG. 14) and in the pop-up state with flip-flop members (c, d) standing upright (state in FIG. 15) is attached to the above ascending and descending body (f) so as to be capable of sliding forward and backward (to the left and right in the drawing). The lock piece is urged forward by a coil spring (j).
This pop-up mechanism, when folded with both flip-flop members (c, d) turned down on the cover (b) in opposition to the force of the above torsion springs (h) as shown in FIG. 14, is locked in the folded state in opposition to the force of the above torsion springs (h) with a hook-shaped tip of a lock stud (k) projecting on the upper surface of cover (b) coupling with a lock hole (m) formed on the above lock piece (i). At this time, the above lock piece (i) becomes in a state where it is positioned at the limit of the forward (right side in the drawing) movement by the force of the above coil spring (j), and a lock nub or projection (n) sticking out on the front end is inserted into a somewhat rectangular fan-shaped push-in cavity (o) formed on the tip of the forward flip-flop member (c).
When the arm rest (e) is used by raising the ascending and descending body (f) from this state, a lock release (s) extending integrally from the front end of the above lock piece (i) and protruding from the front end of the above arm rest (e) is pressed (p1). Thus, as shown in FIG. 16(A), the above lock piece (i) slides backward (left side in the drawing), and the coupling state of the edge of the above lock hole (m) provided on that lock piece (i) with the above lock stud (k) is released, so that the locked state is released. By this, both flip-flop members (c, d) are rotated toward the upright direction by the force of torsion springs (h), and the ascending and descending body (f) is raised by the operation of the link mechanism. As shown in FIG. 16(B), by releasing the above pressing force (p1), the lock nub (n) of the lock piece (i) having been moved forward (right side in the drawing) by the force of the above coil spring (j) is pressed backward inside the push-in cavity (o) by the rotational movement of the flip-flop member (c), and again the lock piece (i) slides backward. Also, at the point when the flip-flop member (c) was rotated to the upright state, it comes to a state where the above lock nub (n) is aligned with a check cavity (r) formed inside the upper part of the flip-flop member (c), and as shown in FIG. 15, the lock piece (i) again is moved forward (right side in the drawing) by the force of the coil spring (j), and the lock nub (n) is inserted into the check cavity (r) such that the two are coupled. Thus, it is locked in the pop-up state with both flip-flop members (c, d) standing upright.
Furthermore, when the ascending and descending body (f) is lowered from this pop-up state and is returned to the folded-up state in FIG. 14, again, the lock release (s) is pressed (p2) such that the above lock piece (i) is slid backward (left side in the drawing) as shown in FIG. 16(C). By this, the above lock nub (n) provided on that lock piece (i) comes out from the check cavity (r) of the flip-flop member (c), and the locked state is released. The above ascending and descending body (f) is pressed downward in this state while both flip-flop members (c, d) are rotated backward by the operation of the link mechanism. As shown in FIG. 16(D), by the release of the above pressing force (p2), the tip of the above lock stud (k) is made to meet with a tapered part formed on the lower side of the back edge of the lock hole (m) of the lock piece (i) which had been moved to the limit of the forward movement (right side in the drawing). In this state, the ascending and descending body (f) is further pressed (p3) so as to be pushed down, whereby the lock piece (i) is slid backward by the operation of the above tapered part and the lock stud (k) is inserted into the lock hole (m), upon which the lock piece (i) again is slid forward by the force of the coil spring (j), and as shown in FIG. 14, the lock stud (k) and lock hole (m) are coupled, and they are locked in the folded state.
Thus, with this pop-up mechanism, the arm rest (e) attached to the cover (b) of the center console box (a) can be used well in an automobile by pressing the lock release (s) to cause the ascending and descending body (f) to rise, and after use, it can be folded by pressing the lock release (s) to release the locked state and pressing the ascending and descending body (f) down.
However, because this convention pop-up mechanism was constituted such that all the load on the ascending and descending body (f) is supported by the above flip-flop members (c, d), during the pop-up state when used as an arm rest, it is necessary that the above flip-flop members (c, d) be put into a vertical state which is most superior in load-bearing capability. Because of this, there is a drawback that the range of raising of the ascending and descending body (f) and the range of the forward-backward distance during the pop-up state are necessarily linked, and these can not be set separately.
That is, there are various positions and heights of the center console boxes of automobiles according to the vehicle type, and in order to use the cover of this center console box comfortably as an arm rest, it is necessary to set the range of raising and the range of forward-backward movement in the pop-up state to the optimum ranges according to the vehicle type. There are cases according to the vehicle type such that it is sought to make the range of raising greater and the range of forward-backward movement smaller, and conversely it is sought to make the range of raising smaller and range of forward-backward movement greater.
However, with the above pop-up mechanism in the past, because it is necessary to make the flip-flop members (c, d) stand up vertically during the pop-up state from the view point of load-bearing capability as described above, the range of raising of the ascending and descending body (f) becomes the distance between the points of support of the flip-flop members (c, d). Also, because the flip-flop members (c, d) become in a state to be turned down somewhat horizontally on the base body (b) when folded, the range of forward-backward movement of the ascending and descending body (f) becomes the distance between the points of support of the flip-flop members (c, d). Thus, the range of raising and the range of forward-backward movement become roughly the same distance. Because of this, it is not possible to set separately the range of raising and the range of forward-backward movement of the ascending and descending body (f), and it is not possible to set the optimum pop-up operation according to the vehicle type.
Also, because it is constituted such that the load is supported by the above flip-flop members (c, d), in order to withstand that load, a metal shaft must be used as a rotation shaft linking the above flip-flop members (c, d) and base (b) as well as the ascending and descending body (f) so as to be capable of rotation. This becomes a factor that prevents reduction of weight and causes the increase of cost and complication of the assembly operation, and the like.
Furthermore, because it is made such that the load is supported by the flip-flop members (c, d) in the state of standing up vertically, there is also a drawback that a great force may be expended in the direction of rotating the flip-flop members (c, d) according to the direction of the load, and because of this, a great load is applied to the parts of the lock mechanism, such as lock nub (n) and check cavity (r), which is used in the state where the flip-flop members (c, d) are standing up vertically. Thus, these parts of the lock mechanism tend to be damaged. In order to eliminate these drawbacks in the pop-up mechanism of the past, it is necessary to provide a more sturdy locking means in place of the lock nub (n) and the check cavity (r), and in this case, it further prevents the reduction of weight and increases the cost and complication of the assembly operation.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and an object of the invention is to provide a pop-up mechanism using a link mechanism, wherein the range of raising and range of forward-backward movement of the ascending and descending body can be set separately, and it is possible to design for reduction of weight, curtailment of cost, and improvement of assembly operation.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pop-up mechanism having a base body, at least one pair of flip-flop members at front and back, each one end linked to the upper surface of the base body so as to be capable of rotation, an ascending and descending member attached to the other ends of the flip-flop members so as to be capable of rotation, forcing or urging means for forcing the above flip-flop members in one rotational direction, and locking means for locking in a state where the above flip-flop members are turned down on the above base body. In a pop-up state, the above ascending and descending body is raised to a specified height from the above base body from a folded state where the above flip-flop members are turned down on the above base body in opposition to the force of the above forcing means and are locked by the above locking means. In the locked state by releasing the above locking means, the above flip-flop members are rotated for a specified angular degree by the force of the above forcing means and the above ascending and descending body is raised. The rotation of the flip-flop members by the force of the forcing means is checked or prevented in a state where the flip-flop members are rotated to a specified angular degree, and the ascending and descending body is raised to a specified position. It is held in the folded state where the above flip-flop members are turned down on the above base body from this pop-up state, by rotating the above flip-flop members in opposition to the force of the above forcing means and turning down on the above base body to be locked in this state by the above locking means.
In the pop-up mechanism, a strut having a specified height is placed to project on the upper surface of the above base body or on the lower surface of the above ascending and descending body or on both of these. During the above pop-up state, the tip of the strut on the upper surface of the base body meets the lower surface of the ascending and descending body, or the tip of the strut on the lower surface of the ascending and descending body meets the upper surface of the base body, or the tips of both struts placed on the upper surface of the base body and the lower surface of the ascending and descending body meet. Thus, the one or more of the strut supports the above ascending and descending body in the pop-up state.
In the pop-up mechanism of the present invention, the flip-flop members provided so as to be capable of rotation on the above base body are rotated by the force of the above forcing means from a state where they are turned down on the base body, the ascending and descending body attached to the other ends of those flip-flop members is raised by the link mechanism, and the flip-flop members are rotated to a specified angular degree. Thus, the ascending and descending body is raised to a specified position, in which state the strut provided on the base body or the ascending and descending body, or on both, meets the ascending and descending body or the base body, or the struts meet each other. Thus, the rotation of the flip-flop members is checked or prevented in opposition to the force of the above forcing means, and the ascending and descending body is raised to a specified position, and it is held in such a pop-up state.
Accordingly, the angular degree of rotation of the flip-flop members in the pop-up state can be set arbitrarily by arbitrarily setting the height of the above strut, whereby the range of raising and the range of forward-backward movement of the ascending and descending body can be set separately. Moreover, because the load on the ascending and descending body is supported by the above strut which is fixed to the base body or ascending and descending body and can be made completely rigid, it is more superior also in the load bearing capability than the pop-up mechanism of the past where the load was supported by the flip-flop members provided so as to be capable of rotation between the base body and the ascending and descending body. Accordingly, with the pop-up mechanism of the present invention, when used as a pop-up mechanism of an arm rest constituted on the cover of a center console box of an automobile, and the like, the arm rest can be raised and lowered such that the optimum pop-up state is obtained by separately setting the range of raising and the range of forward-backward movement according to the vehicle type.
Also, as noted above, because the load on the ascending and descending body is supported by the above strut and the load on the ascending and descending body is not laid on the flip-flop members, great strength is not required for the rotation shaft linking the flip-flop members and the base body as well as the ascending and descending body. Thus, such rotation shaft can be formed integrally with the flip-flop members using comparatively light-weight synthetic resin, and reduction of weight, curtailment of cost, and improvement of assembly operation can be designed more as compared with the pop-up mechanism of the past where it was necessary to use a metal shaft as the rotation shaft.
Furthermore, because the load on the ascending and descending body is supported by the above strut, there is no great load on the lock mechanism holding the pop-up state, and it is sufficient for the lock mechanism holding the pop-up state to be simple. Also, because the rotation of the flip-flop members due to the force of above forcing means is checked by making the strut meet the base body or the ascending and descending body or by making the struts meet each other such that the pop-up state is maintained, it is possible to maintain a good pop-up state by the force of the forcing means. In some cases, the lock mechanism for maintaining the pop-up state also can be omitted. Accordingly, from this point as well, it is possible to design for reduction of weight, curtailment of cost, and improvement of assembly operation.